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The Pauli spin matrices $$ \sigma_1 ~=~ (\begin{smallmatrix} 0 & 1 \\ 1 & 0 \end{smallmatrix}), \qquad\qquad \sigma_2 ~=~ (\begin{smallmatrix} 0 & -i \\ i & 0 \end{smallmatrix}), \qquad\qquad \sigma_3 ~=~ (\begin{smallmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & -1 \end{smallmatrix}),$$
are mathematically symmetric in the sense that (like $i$ and $-i$) they can be universally exchanged with each other in several ways without altering any mathematical result. However, the visual forms for these three matrices are unexpectedly diverse (e.g., only $\sigma_2$ uses $i$ and $-i$). My understanding of physics history is that Pauli (and also Dirac) developed his matrices by trial and error, rather than by applying any specific theory.
Does a deeper theoretical explanation exist for why these very different visual representations of spin are nonetheless interchangeable in multiple ways?


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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer wants to add more World Series championships to the two his franchise has captured the past three seasons.
Why not build a baseball dynasty in the Bay Area?
Baer said Wednesday the front office is already hard at work beginning plans for the 2013 roster — and he is optimistic many familiar faces will stick around, including second baseman and NL championship series MVP Marco Scutaro.
"Nobody thinks we should be done," Baer said. "I think we want to get lots of people back, and he's one of them. ... My favorite sign was 'San Francisco, Happiest Place on Earth.' That's how we all feel about this. That's what the goal is."
NL West champion San Francisco completed a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers on Sunday night at Comerica Park. The Giants and the city celebrated with an orange-and-black parade through downtown Wednesday — fitting it fell on Halloween.
General manager Brian Sabean called it a priority to re-sign Scutaro, center fielder Angel Pagan and left-handed reliever Jeremy Affeldt. So far, he said, his staff has spoken only "informally" about what's next as everyone wanted to get through Wednesday's festivities before starting in earnest.
Scutaro, who celebrated his 37th birthday Tuesday and then partied some more with his teammates a day later before this group parts ways for the winter, said it's a no-brainer he would like to return.
"What a question. Of course I want to come back," Scutaro said. "Sometimes there are decisions you can't control. I don't know what they're thinking, what other teams are thinking. I just have to wait. The only thing I can say is I hope everything works out because I want to come back here."
So, what will it take?
"I want 15 years, three thousand million dollars," Scutaro joked. "How do you like me now? I gotta go."
Just like two years ago, the Giants brass is about a month behind in preparing for next season. Though vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans has said that's a good problem to have when it means your team has won it all.
Pagan, too, hopes the team will stay intact and that he remains a key part of it as the Giants try to defend their championship next year.
"Now is for celebrating," Pagan said. "We'll have time for that — negotiations. I have no words to describe how special this is to be able to bring this championship to this beautiful city. A lot of people told me before I came here how the fans are, the great fans. But actually to win a championship and experience it myself, I have no words. This is truly a blessing and I hope I can come back next year, seriously. It would be great."
Sabean has all five starting pitchers under contract for next season, but maintaining a dominant bullpen will be paramount for a GM who has long built his club around the pitching staff.
While Affeldt also acknowledged he would like to stay put in San Francisco, he is seeking more than a one-year deal to give some long-term stability to his family with a wife and three young sons.
"It's nice to hear. I'm sure they'll be talking," Affeldt said. "If it doesn't go the way we'd like it to go and I've got to move on, I'll never say anything bad about this front office or team. It's a special group of people. Hopefully we can work something out. This team has brought me a lot of joy for the last four years and I can't complain one bit about anybody. ... I'm not looking for a one-year deal. I've got a family. When you have a family and you have an opportunity, a one-year deal is definitely not something I'm going to do."
If the Giants can bring this group back, everybody would be thrilled. Yet the players all fully understand the business side always comes into play.
"That's not my job," World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval said.
For now, the Giants are going to relish in what they just accomplished again so soon after the 2010 championship run brought the franchise's first World Series title since it moved West in 1958.
"Wonderful day," Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal said. "Wonderful day."

subset: commoncrawl


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Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny's expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text message horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at (877) 873-4888 or (900) 950-7700.
Latest Article|September 3, 2020|Free
::Making Grown Men Cry Since 1992
7 min read
ARIES (March 21-April 19) : "Those who know how to win are much more numerous than those who know how to make proper use of their victories." So said the ancient Greek historian Polybius, and now I'm conveying the message to you. I hope it will serve as a spur in the wake of your recent triumph. Will you be content with merely basking in the glow, frittering away the provocative potentials? Or will you get down to business and use your new advantages to upgrade your destiny to what we might refer to as Aries 2.0? TAURUS (April 20-May 20) : "Whatever shines should be observed," said 19th-century astronomer William Herschel, discoverer of the planet Uranus. He was referring to his specialty, heavenly bodies, but I'd like to expand the meaning for your use. According to my analysis, it has become very important for you to notice, observe and think about anything that shines. Doing so will tune you in to exactly what you need to know in order to make the best decisions in the coming weeks. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) : "One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time," wrote French author Andre Gide. I'm guessing that 2009 was a time when you embarked on such a search, Gemini—a half-blind, groping exploration that asked you to leave the past behind without knowing where the future lay. By now, though, I suspect you have sighted the shore of your new frontier. If you haven't yet, it'll happen soon. CANCER (June 21-July 22) : I wonder if you can you handle this much healing intensity, Cancerian. The possibilities for transforming difficult parts of your life are substantial. I'll name a few ways this could play out: 1) A confusing riddle may be partially solved through a semi-divine intervention. 2) A sore spot could be soothed thanks to the power of your curiosity. 3) An ignorance that has caused you pain may be illuminated, allowing you to suffer less. 4) If you can summon the capacity to generously tolerate uncertainty, you may find and rehabilitate an orphaned part of your life. I'm not saying for sure that any of this stuff will happen, but the odds are favorable that at least one will. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) : What will it be, Leo? A time of rampaging ids and slamming doors and lost opportunities? Of strange smells and sweeping views of other people's hells? Or will this be the week you finally slip into the magic sanctuary and track down the secret formula? Will this be the breakthrough moment when you outmaneuver the "dragon" with that non-violent "weapon" you've been saving for when it was absolutely necessary? It really is up to you. Either scenario could unfold. You have to decide which one you prefer, and then set your intention. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) : I don't mean to alarm you, but I think you may be in a light hypnotic trance right now. It's possible that the thrumming hum of your routine has shut down some of your normal alertness, lowering your awareness of certain situations that you really need to tune in to. Let's do something about this! When I count to three, you will hereby snap out of your daze and become fully awake. 1 … 2 … 3. Now look around you and get yourself more closely in touch with your immediate environment. Make an effort to vividly see and hear and smell everything that's going on. This will have the effect of mobilizing your subconscious mind. Then, for a period of at least five days, you'll have a kind of X-ray vision. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) : You would stir up some good fortune for yourself if you brought meals to shut-ins or gave a little presentation at an old folks' home or donated your old laptop to a low-income family. Oddly enough, it's also an excellent time for you to scratch and claw for a bigger market share, or to get the upper hand on a competitor, or to bring your creative ideas to people in a position to help you. That's the odd thing about this week. Capitalist-style self-promotion and actualized compassion will not only coexist—they'll have a symbiotic relationship. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) : Last week was the anniversary of my very first weekly horoscope column, which appeared years ago in the Good Times , a newspaper in Santa Cruz, Calif. My initial effort was crude and a bit reckless compared to what I eventually learned to create. And yet it was imbued with a primal fervor and heartfelt adventurousness that had a certain charm, and many people seemed to find it useful. Today I bow down to that early effort, honoring it for the seed it sprouted and thanking it for the blessings it led to. I encourage you to do something similar to what I just described, Scorpio: Pay homage to the origins that made it possible for you to be who you have become. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) : In the Choctaw language, there are two kinds of past tenses. In one, you speak about an event or experience that you personally know to be a fact. In the other, you deliver information that you have acquired second-hand and therefore can't definitely vouch for. In my perfect world, you Sagittarians would find a way to incorporate this perspective into all your communications during the coming week. In other words, you would consistently distinguish between the unimpeachable truth and the alleged truth. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, this would give you great power to influence the rhythms of life to flow in your favor. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) : "The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired," wrote music critic Ernest Newman, "but becomes inspired because he is working. Beethoven, Wagner, Bach and Mozart settled down day after day to the job in hand. They didn't waste time waiting for inspiration." I think what Newman said applies to those working in any field where creativity is needed—which is really just about every field. Given your current astrological omens, Capricorn, it's especially apropos for you now. This is an excellent time to increase your mastery of the kind of discipline that spurs inventive thought and surprising breakthroughs. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) : I got an e-mail from an Aquarian reader complaining that the astrologers she consulted in early 2009, including me, were wrong about the year ahead. All of us said it would be a time of expansion and opening for your tribe, a phase of rapid growth and fresh energy. But according to this reader, 2009 turned out to be very different. Every Aquarius she knew had a tough ride. Here's my response: Expansion and opening did indeed occur, but their initial effects weren't what you expected. They shattered the old containers of your life in order to make it possible for you to create new, bigger containers that would be more suitable for the person you're becoming. And this year, 2010, is when you will work in earnest to create those new containers. Now's a good time to dig in. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) : I wish you could aim tachyon particles through an inverted positronic array while simultaneously modulating synaptical relays through an anti-matter torque-buffer. This would bend the space-time continuum back to a point before your recent detour began. Then, armed with knowledge of the future, you'd be able to navigate your way more elegantly through the crazy mash of illusions and misunderstandings. But since the high-tech solution I described may not be possible, I suggest that instead you clear your head of theories about why people are doing what they're doing. Slow yourself down so completely that you can see the majestic flicker of eternity hidden in every moment. Be a flame of love, not a swamp of self-justification. And send humble notes and witty gifts to anyone whose links with you got tweaked. Homework : All of us are born geniuses, but most of us have been de-geniused by the grind. Want to re-genius yourself? Go here: http://bit.ly/ReGeniusSpell


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Red Wings beat Stars 3-2 in shootout
The Detroit Red Wings are nearly unbeatable at home. On the road — not so much.
Jiri Hudler scored in the second round of the shootout, Detroit's Ty Conklin was perfect in all three rounds, and the Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Tuesday night for two rare road points.
The Red Wings are an NHL-best 18-2-1 at home, and have won a franchise-record 15 straight at Joe Louis Arena. But Detroit is 12-13 on the road, and had gone 2-5 in its seven previous away games.
Detroit coach Mike Babcock wanted a more competitive road effort, and that's exactly what he got.
''We talked a lot about that today,'' Babcock said. ''We're averaging 1.7 (goals-against) at home and 2.7 against on the road. You can't win without checking. It's impossible. You can't outscore your mistakes. You've got to be diligent without the puck if you're going to have success.''
Hudler used a nifty move to fake rookie Richard Bachman out of position, and backhanded the puck into the right side of the net.
''It's always nice when you score on a move like this,'' Hudler said. ''I faked a shot, the puck stopped for a little second, and then there was an open net there. I thought he got the puck, but he didn't expect that. I was lucky.''
Conklin denied Loui Eriksson and Michael Ryder, and Trevor Daley missed the net in the final round of the shootout to give the Red Wings the extra point.
Bachman got a break when Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk had his shot clang off the crossbar in the first round.
Brenden Morrow and Eriksson scored in regulation for Dallas, 1-3-1 in its past five.
Tomas Holmstrom and Hudler had regulation goals for Detroit, which has won four straight, including a 5-0 home win over Buffalo on Monday.
Bachman made 30 saves and went beyond regulation for the first time in his 11 NHL games.
''We knew it was going to be a tight third (period), and I just wanted to do whatever I could to just give the team a chance to win,'' Bachman said. ''I would have liked to see things go the other way, but the guys worked hard.''
Conklin stopped 25 shots in his ninth game of the season, giving regular starter Jimmy Howard the night off.
Conklin had started only three of the previous 20 games, but he was sharp against Dallas.
''I felt good throughout the game,'' Conklin said. ''You know your role on the team and try to control your mental errors. It's nice to be able to contribute.''
The Stars were without their top two centers, All-Star Jamie Benn (appendectomy) and Mike Ribeiro (knee).
Holmstrom gave the Wings a 1-0 lead at 6:41 of the opening period. He was alone in the high slot, and his one-timer beat Bachman for his eighth goal of the season.
Morrow drew Dallas even on the power play at 10:59 when he tipped Alex Goligoski's shot between Conklin's pads for his eighth goal.
Eriksson chipped a rebound past Conklin, giving the Stars a 2-1 lead at 16:28 of the first with his 17th of the season.
Hudler was the beneficiary of a lucky bounce when his pass glanced off Goligoski's skate and went into the net at 1:43 of the second to tie it for Hudler's 13th goal.
NOTES: Detroit won the first two meetings with Dallas this season by a combined score of 10-6. ... Stars forward Tomas Vincour (knee) returned after missing 14 games. D Philip Larsen (concussion-like symptoms) is still out. ... D Mike Commodore (ankle) was back in the Red Wings lineup after a four-game absence. Forward Patrick Eaves (jaw) remained out.


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Most trash items can be disposed of curbside but call your private hauler for details. Large items such as furniture, building materials, treated wood and more are generally trash items if they cannot be reused. Call your hauler for curbside options and possible additional fees.
Other options include: Walters Recycling and Refuse, Inc. operates a public trash transfer station located at:10191 Xylite Street NEBlaine, MN 55449Call for more details and fees at 763-780-8464.
SKB Environmental- Blaine Campus10304 Naples ST NEBlaine, MN 55449651-224-6329
Elk River Landfill22460 Highway 169 NWElk River, MN 553301-966-909-4458
If you have reusable building materials, please contact the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity Store at 612-588-3820. They are located at:510 County Road D WestNew Brighton, MN 55112


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On this day in 2008, Paul Newman, one of the leading movie stars of the 20th century, dies at the age of 83 from cancer at his home in Westport, Connecticut. In a career spanning more than five decades, Newman made over 65 movies, including the classics "Cool Hand Luke," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Sting" and "The Verdict." As reported in The New York Times, Newman's talent as an actor was drawn from his "physical grace, unassuming intelligence and good humor that made it all seem effortless."
Paul Leonard Newman was born on January 26, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in the nearby suburb of Shaker Heights. In high school, he acted in school drama performances and played football.
At age 18, Newman joined the U.S. Navy and served as a radioman/gunner on a torpedo plane during World War II. After the war, Newman attended Kenyon College on a football scholarship and continued to act. He graduated in 1949 and began performing with small theater companies. Following the 1950 death of his father, Newman briefly moved back to Cleveland to help manage his family's sporting goods store. After a stint at the Yale Drama School, Newman made his Broadway debut in "Picnic" in 1953. His silver-screen debut came a year later in "The Silver Chalice," which he later labeled the worst film ever made. Newman's first starring movie role was in 1956's "Somebody Up There Likes Me," in which he portrayed real-life boxer Rocky Graziano.
The famously blued-eyed Newman earned his first Academy Award nomination, for best actor, with his performance in the 1959 big-screen version of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hat Tin Roof." He went on to collect lead-actor Oscar nominations for his work in seven other films: "The Hustler" (1961), "Hud" (1963), "Cool Hand Luke" (1967), "Absence of Malice" (1981), "The Verdict" (1982), "The Color of Money" (1986) and "Nobody's Fool" (1994). Of those nominations, he took home only a golden statuette for "The Color of Money." Additionally, he garnered an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for 2002's "Road to Perdition." Newman also earned an Oscar nomination for best picture with 1968's "Rachel, Rachel," in which he directed his wife, the actress Joanne Woodward (1930-).
Among Newman's many other notable cinematic performances was 1969's "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," in which he teamed up with Robert Redford (1936-) to play a team of bank robbers in the Old West. The film was a commercial and critical success and won four Oscars. Newman and Redford collaborated again with 1973's "The Sting," in which they portrayed a pair of con men. The movie collected seven Academy Awards, including best picture, and was a big hit at the box office.
In addition to acting, Newman was known for his love of auto racing. After playing a professional race car driver in 1969's "Winning," he became passionate about the sport and competed in a number of races, including the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, at which he took second place in 1979. In 1983, he co-founded a racing team with Carl Haas, Newman/Haas Racing (now Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing).
Newman was also a noted philanthropist who launched a series of summer camps for sick children and founded a multi-million-dollar food business, Newman's Own, the profits of which go to charity.
Taken from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/screen-legend-paul-newman-dies [26.09.2012]


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- It reduced the frizz,
- Hair felt soft, smooth and shiny too!
- Ends were smoother than before
- There were no knots at all and while combing the brush just comes across effortlessly.
Here's my hair with and without flash. I have natural dark brown hair with reddish tent, that looks as if I have colored them or applied henna.:D... I haven't combed them in the pics!
And friends/followers, please don't forget to Follow my blog on bloglovin HERE
I will highly appreciate!
Till then take care and stay beautiful <3


text: The error in the 5th step is caused by a chatty login message. This makes mpi complain but it ought to work anyway. You want to turn off motd, and if using freebsd create a file called ".huslogin" and put it in the users home directory. The next error is to do with paths to mpich and to the program being launched. All the nodes need to be able to "see" the mpi binaries and need to be able to see the executable program. The paths to mpi and the program being launched need to be the same for all nodes and for the root node. Make sure the path is seutup properly in the environment. You may need to chek your mount points and setup NFS properly. The last one probably has to do with name resolution. The root node usually won't need to be in the machines.linux file, but all other nodes need to be. I believe you need to list machines by hostname, not ip addresses so be sure that both machines have the same hostfile, same .rhosts, etc. Glen The next message indicates that the path to the executable "mpichfoo" was not found. akhtar Rasool wrote: > After the extraction of MPICH in /usr/local > > > > 1- tcsh > > 2- ./configure -with-comm=shared --prefix=/usr/local > > 3- make > > 4- make install > > 5- util/tstmachines > > in the 5th step error was > > Errors while trying to run rsh 192.168.0.25 -n /bin/ls > /usr/local/mpich/mpich-188.8.131.52/mpichfoo unexpected response from > 192.168.0.25 > > > > n > /bin/ls: /usr/local/mpich/mpich-188.8.131.52/mpichfoo: > > n no such file or directory > > The ls test failed on some machines. > > This usually means that u donot have a common filesystem on all of the > machines in your machines list; MPICH requires this for mpirun (it is > possible to handle this in a procgroup file; see the......) > > Other possible problems include:- > > The remote shell command rsh doesnot allow you to run ls. > > See the doc abt remote shell & rhosts > > > > You have common filesystem, but with inconsistent names > > See the doc on the automounter fix > > 1 error were encountered while testing the machines list for LINUX > > only these machines seem to be available > > host1 > > > > > > > > > > now since this is only a two node cluster host1 is the server on to > which MPICH is being installed. & 192.168.0.25 is the client..... > > rsh on both nodes is logging freely....... > > On the server side the file " machines.LINUX " contains > > -192.168.0.25 > > -host1 > > Kindly help > > > > > > Akhtar > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Do you Yahoo!? > The all-new My Yahoo! <http://my.yahoo.com> - What will yours do? > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >Beowulf mailing list, Beowulf at beowulf.org >To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf > > -- Glen E. Gardner, Jr. AA8C AMSAT MEMBER 10593 Glen.Gardner at verizon.net http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze24qhw/index.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://www.beowulf.org/pipermail/beowulf/attachments/20041211/7b1a3d46/attachment.html>


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How Much Can SEC Network Make On Cable Fees?
Editorial Note: We're proud to announce Dave Warner as an addition to Awful Announcing. This article appears courtesy Dave's site, What You Pay For Sports. We'll be syndicating some of Dave's work at AA and feature original pieces in the weeks to come.
Do you live in SEC Country? Do you pay for cable or satellite TV? Congratulations! Your cable bill is going up yet another 80 cents per month next year!
Of course, if you're an alumnus or fan of an Southeastern Conference school, you probably won't mind, as that 80 cents will pay for the new SEC Network, which was formally announced today in conjunction with ESPN. The new network will launch in August of 2014, and ESPN president John Skipper insisted that it would be a "national network" on par with ESPNU, which is currently in 74 million homes.
Getting the SEC Network into that many homes, of course, will require a bit of massaging. After all, this channel won't be able to fetch nearly as much money in Michigan or California as it will in Alabama and Mississippi. The bulk of the SEC Network's viewership will be in the 11 states where SEC schools are located. That's where the subscriber fees will be the highest.
How high? Currently, the Big Ten Network and Pac-12 Network both collect upwards of $0.80/month per subscriber within their regions. (This explains why the Big Ten desperately wants New Yorkers to care about Rutgers.) The subscriber fee for the SEC Network should be roughly the same in SEC states. Let's take a look at how many households in those 11 states get pay TV, and what they'll be adding to the SEC Network coffers:
Remember, that's $0.80 x 12 x 19,282,570. That's how much the SEC Network stands to make per year from just those 11 states. As a "national network", however, it won't be able to charge nearly as much outside of SEC territory; the average subscriber fee in non-SEC territories will be closer to what ESPNU makes. It might even be a few cents lower.
Let's project, then, that the SEC Network's sub fee in non-SEC states averages out to roughly $0.15/month. If ESPN is successful in getting this channel into all the same 74 million homes as ESPNU, here's what it stands to make:
By these numbers, the SEC Network's average subscriber fee for the entire nation would be $0.32/month. The Big Ten Network's national average is $0.36/month, but it only reaches 50 million homes. How would the SEC Network do if it only got into 50 million homes?
Yeah, I think they'll do okay.
As for the 14 SEC schools themselves, they can expect to get at least $10 million each from this network. Combine that with the $205 million annually that the conference already gets from ESPN and CBS, and those schools will receive nearly $25 million each in TV money alone. Only the Pac-12, at a projected $30 million per school annually, would make more from its TV deals than the SEC.
Little wonder, then, that South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier questioned when the players themselves might see some of this money. It's a fair question, and one which all pay TV subscribers should be asking. After all, cable TV money foots the bill for college sports. We pay for ESPN and Fox, ESPN and Fox give the Big 12 $200 million per year, the Big 12 gives Oklahoma University $20 million per year, OU gives head football coach Bob Stoops $4 million per year, and Bob Stoops gives OU's football players… lectures about how they're not the only college kids going hungry on Sunday nights.
Clearly, the college sports system could use an overhaul. This might be one reason why big conferences are so eager to launch their own cable networks. When schools are collecting $25-30 million each in TV money, why exactly do they need the NCAA to tell them how to run their operations? Why do bowl games need the NCAA if the money is coming from ESPN? Is the NCAA Basketball Tournament still worth it if schools get only $1-2 million each from it? Every dollar of TV money will make these questions a little bit louder. At some point soon, they're bound to dominate the conversation entirely.
Courtesy What You Pay For Sports.


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DOCTOR WHO Season 9 Episode 6 : The Woman Who Lived (2)
England, 1651. A deadly highwayman known only as 'The Nightmare' plagues the dark streets of London, his fire-breathing accomplice by his side. There's something clearly more than human here, and that includes the loot as much as the outlaws. Who are these creatures, and are they enemies to be fought, or friends who might possibly save the Doctor from certain doom on the gallows?
Episode Guide
Season 01
Season 02
Season 03
Season 04
Season 05
Season 06
Season 07
Season 08
Season 09
Season 10
Season 11
Season 12


text: The Pumpkin Eater is a surreal black comedy about the wages of adulthood and the pitfalls of parenthood. A nameless woman speaks, at first from the precarious perch of a therapist's couch, and her smart, wry, confiding, immensely sympathetic voice immediately captures and holds our attention. She is the mother of a vast, swelling brood of children, also nameless, and the wife of a successful screenwriter, Jake Armitage. The Armitages live in the city, but they are building a great glass tower in the country in which to settle down and live happily ever after. But could that dream be nothing more than a sentimental delusion? At the edges of vision the spectral children come and go, while our heroine, alert to the countless gradations of depression and the innumerable forms of betrayal, tries to make sense of it all: doctors, husbands, movie stars, bodies, grocery lists, nursery rhymes, messes, aging parents, memories, dreams, and breakdowns. How to pull it all together? Perhaps you start by falling apart.


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I took my 11- and 13-year-old sons to the Birth of Impressionism show at the De Young Museum in San Francisco yesterday. My oldest boy actually enjoyed the show.
With his own form of psychological torture, he asked those questions so many times that I felt like I was being water-boarded.
The show was great and it was over all too soon, much to my son's relief.
Walking back to the car, I noticed a small fenced garden situated next to the Academy of Sciences. I made my boys follow it around with me until we found the entrance.
Written in wrought iron above the entrance were the words "Shakespeare Garden." It was a relatively small garden, simple and serene.
I strolled through the entrance and along the walkway under a canopy of crabapple trees.
At the rear of the garden was an elegant brick wall embedded with four bronze plaques and places for two more. In the center of the brick wall was a large steel door.
I wondered aloud what was behind the door and my little boy said he thought it was a giant cuckoo clock.
I did a little research online when I got home. The Shakespeare Garden was built in 1928. Behind the steel door is a bronze sculpture created by George Bullock of William Shakespeare. The door to the sculpture is only opened in the presence of parks personnel, due to the threat of vandalism and theft.
There were once six bronze plaques each featuring a quote by Shakespeare relating to the plants in the garden. The other two were stolen.
I have been in this area of the city many times and never noticed the garden before.
It was truly an unexpected and pleasant surprise.


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
Show All Answers
Dog and cats who reside with in the Cottage Grove city limits must be licensed.
Yes, unless they have a written note from their vet stating that the animal cannot have the shot for medical reasons (usually due to an aging or ill animal).
Six months old or older.
December 31 of the year on the tag.
Yes, the tag should be worn by a licensed dog or cat.
This depends on when the rabies expire. The city offers an annual or lifetime license.
The owner can buy a replacement one for $5.
We will switch that license over, no charge.


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Home / Shop
Beckers White
A one-time price of $50.00 will be added to your order.
Categories: BIRDS & BUTTERFLIES, ALL
Manufacturer: Dave Giusti
- Description
All photos below are available for purchase. The sizes are as follows:
SMALL - Matted 11"x14", Opening 8.25"x10.75", Frame 11"x14", Photo 8.5"x11"
MEDIUM - Matted 16 "x20", Opening 10.5"x13.5", Frame 16"x20", Photo 11"x14"
LARGE - Matted 18"x24", Opening 12.5"x18.5", Frame 18"x24", Photo 13"x19"
**Please note - Great care has been taking to represent our photo color as accurately as possible. All prices include shipping and handling within the US. We will contact you for local Reno/Sparks reduced shipping cost.


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Site: Durham, N.C.
Stadium: Wallace Wade Stadium
Surface: Natural Grass
Capacity: 33,941
Radio: Blue Devil IMG Sports Network; Sirius XM Radio (Channels 94 & 193)
TV: ACC Network - Tim Brant (Play-by-play), Dave Archer (Analyst) and Mike Hogewood (Sideline)
Internet: GoDuke.com; theACC.com
Tickets: 1-877-375-DUKE
Series: Georgia Tech, 47-30-1
Last Time: Georgia Tech went ahead with an 85-yard interception return for a TD by Mario Butler in the third quarter and held on for a 30-20 win over Duke in Atlanta, Ga. Duke passed for 334 yards, and Georgia Tech ran for 320.
Duke Hosts Georgia Tech
• The Blue Devils will close out the home portion of their 2011 schedule this week by hosting Georgia Tech.
• Duke is 3-7 overall and 1-5 in ACC play following its 31-21 loss at Virginia last week. The Yellow Jackets stand at 7-3 overall and 4-3 in league play after losing at home to Virginia Tech, 37-26, last Thursday night.
• Duke and Georgia Tech have met 78 times on the gridiron dating back to 1933. The Yellow Jackets have won seven straight over the Blue Devils and lead the all-time series, 47-30-1.
• Duke's last win came in 2003 (41-17 in Durham).
Senior Day
• A total of 20 seniors will be honors prior to the game for Duke's annual Senior Day festivities.
• The list includes K Paul Asack, S Matt Daniels, S Jeffrey Faris, WR Guillermo Freile, TE Ryan Hall, NG Charlie Hatcher, TE Cooper Helfet, OT Kyle Hill, RB Jay Hollingsworth, K Jeffrey Ijjas, P Alex King, OT Jon Needham, TE Danny Parker, TE George Pearkes, LB Kevin Rojas, WR Preston Scott, K Will Snyderwine, S Josh Trezvant, WR Donovan Varner and CB Johnny Williams.
Virginia Defeats Duke, 31-21
• Virginia QB Michael Rocco threw two touchdown passes to lead the Cavaliers to a 31-21 victory over Duke as 45,733 fans looked on at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
• With a seven-catch outing, WR Donovan Varner became Duke's all-time leader in pass receptions, eclipsing the record of 189 catches set by 2010 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Clarkston Hines from 1986-89. Varner finished with 132 receiving yards and scored his first touchdown of the year on a 64-yard strike from QB Sean Renfree.
• Duke RB Juwan Thompson rushed for a pair of one-yard touchdowns — his third multi-touchdown game of the season — while Renfree threw for 303 yard to mark the eighth 300-yard passing day of his career.
• Duke S Walt Canty posted a career-high 15 tackles including two behind the line of scrimmage.
• Duke freshman LBs C.J. France (8 tackles) and David Helton (7 tackles) earned the first starting assignments of their careers. Duke played without LB Kelby Brown, the team's leader in tackles for loss entering the week.
Record Book Watch
• Senior WR Donovan Varner broke one school record and tied another one last week at Virginia. The Miami, Fla., native became Duke's all-time leader in receptions, passing Clarkston Hines who had 189 grabs from 1986-89. In addition, Varner equaled Scottie Montgomery's school standard of most consecutive games with at least one catch (35).
• Redshirt junior QB Sean Renfree's 303-yard outing against Virginia marked the eighth 300-yard game of his career, moving him into a tie for fourth place on the school's all-time list. Thaddeus Lewis holds the school standard with 11.
• Junior WR Conner Vernon's 22 career games with 5+ catches are the most in school history ... Vernon's nine games with 5+ receptions in 2009 matched the school's single-season record.
• Duke has 19 rushing touchdowns through 10 games this season — matching last year's total for the most since 1994. Sophomore RB Juwan Thompson has seven rushing scores — the highest total by a Duke running back since 2005 when Justin Boyle scored nine times on the ground.


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The long-lost ship of British polar explorer Sir John Franklin, HMS Terror, has been found in pristine condition at the bottom of an Arctic bay, researchers have said, in a discovery that challenges the accepted history behind one of polar exploration's deepest mysteries.
HMS Terror and Franklin's flagship, HMS Erebus, were abandoned in heavy sea ice far to the north of the eventual wreck site in 1848, during the Royal Navy explorer's doomed attempt to complete the Northwest Passage.
All 129 men on the Franklin expedition died, in the worst disaster to hit Britain's Royal Navy in its long history of polar exploration. Search parties continued to look for the ships for 11 years after they disappeared, but found no trace, and the fate of the missing men remained an enigma that tantalised generations of historians, archaeologists and adventurers.
Now that mystery seems to have been solved by a combination of intrepid exploration – and an improbable tip from an Inuk crewmember.
On Sunday, a team from the charitable Arctic Research Foundation manoeuvred a small, remotely operated vehicle through an open hatch and into the ship to capture stunning images that give insight into life aboard the vessel close to 170 years ago.
"We have successfully entered the mess hall, worked our way into a few cabins and found the food storage room with plates and one can on the shelves," Adrian Schimnowski, the foundation's operations director, told the Guardian by email from the research vessel Martin Bergmann. "We spotted two wine bottles, tables and empty shelving. Found a desk with open drawers with something in the back corner of the drawer."
The well-preserved wreck matches the Terror in several key aspects, but it lies 60 miles (96km) south of where experts have long believed the ship was crushed by ice, and the discovery may force historians to rewrite a chapter in the history of exploration.
The 10-member Bergmann crew found the massive shipwreck, with her three masts broken but still standing, almost all hatches closed and everything stowed, in the middle of King William Island's uncharted Terror Bay on 3 September.
After finding nothing in an early morning search, the research vessel was leaving the bay when a grainy digital silhouette emerged from the depths on the sounder display on the bridge of the Bergmann.
"Everyone was up in the wheelhouse by that point in awe, really," said Daniel McIsaac, 23, who was at the helm when the research vessel steamed straight over the sunken wreck.
Since, then, the discovery team has spent more than a week quietly gathering images of the vessel and comparing them with the Terror's 19th century builders' plans, which match key elements of the sunken vessel.
At first, the Terror seemed to be listing at about 45 degrees to starboard on the seabed. But on the third dive with a remotely operated vehicle, "we noticed the wreck is sitting level on the sea bed floor not at a list - which means the boat sank gently to the bottom," Schimnowski said Monday.
About 24 metres (80ft) down, the wreck is in perfect condition, with metal sheeting that reinforced the hull against sea ice clearly visible amid swaying kelp.
A long, heavy rope line running through a hole in the ship's deck suggests an anchor line may have been deployed before the Terror went down.
If true, that sets up the tantalising possibility that British sailors re-manned the vessel after she was abandoned at the top of Victoria Strait in a desperate attempt to escape south.
One crucial detail in the identification of the ship is a wide exhaust pipe rising above the outer deck. It is in the precise location where a smokestack rose from the locomotive engine which was installed in the Terror's belly to power the ship's propeller through closing sea ice, said Schimnowski in a phone interview.
The ship's bell lies on its side on the deck, close to where the sailor on watch would have have swung the clapper to mark time.
And the majestic bowsprit, six metres (20ft) long, still points straight out from the bow as it did when the crew tried to navigate through treacherous ice that eventually trapped Erebus and Terror on 12 September 1846.
The wreck is in such good condition that glass panes are still in three of four tall windows in the stern cabin where the ship's commander, Captain Francis Crozier, slept and worked, Schimnowski added. "This vessel looks like it was buttoned down tight for winter and it sank," he said. "Everything was shut. Even the windows are still intact. If you could lift this boat out of the water, and pump the water out, it would probably float."
The Arctic Research Foundation was set up by Jim Balsillie, a Canadian tech tycoon and philanthropist, who co-founded Research in Motion, creator of the Blackberry.
Balsillie, who also played a key role in planning the expedition, proposed a theory to explain why it seems both Terror and Erebus sank far south of where they were first abandoned. "This discovery changes history," he told the Guardian. "Given the location of the find [in Terror Bay] and the state of the wreck, it's almost certain that HMS Terror was operationally closed down by the remaining crew who then re-boarded HMS Erebus and sailed south where they met their ultimate tragic fate."
The 21st-century search for Franklin's expedition was launched by Canadian former prime minister Stephen Harper as part of a broader plan to assert Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic and promote development of its resources – including vast reserves of oil and natural gas, which will be easier to exploit as the Arctic warms and sea ice disappears.
Parks Canada underwater archeologists have led the mission since it began in 2008. Now they must confirm the wreck is Terror, either by examining the foundation's images or visiting the site themselves. With the first winter snow already falling in the High Arctic, Terror Bay will soon be encased in thick sea ice.
The latest discovery was made two years and a day after Canadian marine archeologists found the wreck of Erebus in the same area of eastern Queen Maud gulf where Inuit oral history had long said a large wooden ship sank.
The same stories described startled Inuit stumbling upon a large dead man in a dark room on the vessel, with a big smile. Experts have suggested that may have been a rictus smile, or evidence that the man had suffered from scurvy.
Parks Canada archeologists found Erebus standing in just 11 meters of ocean. Sea ice had taken a large bite out her stern, and more than a century of storm-driven waves had scattered a trove of artifacts around the site.
So far, archaeologists have brought up the bell from Franklin's flagship, a cannon, ceramic plate and other objects.
Inuit knowledge was also central to finding the Terror Bay wreck, but in a more mysterious way. Crewman Sammy Kogvik, 49, of Gjoa Haven, had been on the Bergmann for only a day when, chatting with Schimnowski on the bridge, he told a bizarre story.
About six years ago, Kogvik said, he and a hunting buddy were headed on snowmobiles to fish in a lake when they spotted a large piece of wood, which looked like a mast, sticking out of the sea ice covering Terror Bay.
In a phone interview, Kogvik said he stopped that day to get a few snapshots of himself hugging the wooden object, only to discover when he got home that the camera had fallen out his pocket. Kogvik resolved to keep the encounter secret, fearing the missing camera was an omen of bad spirits, which generations of Inuit have believed began to wander King William Island after Franklin and his men perished.
When Schimnowski heard Kogvik's story, he didn't dismiss it, as Inuit testimony has been so often during the long search for Franklin's ships.
Instead, the Bergmann's crew agreed to make a detour for Terror Bay on their way to join the main search group aboard the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the Royal Canadian Navy's HMCS Shawinigan, at the north end of Victoria Strait.
That is where the only known record of the Franklin expedition provided coordinates for what experts now call the point of abandonment.
A scrawled note dated 25 April 1848, and concealed in a stone cairn at Victory Point on northern King William Island, said Erebus and Terror had been abandoned three days earlier, stuck in sea ice.
Crozier was in command of "the officers and crews, consisting of 105 souls", because Franklin had died on 11 June 1847, the note continued, "and the total loss by deaths in the expedition has been to this date 9 officers and 15 men".
Crozier and Captain James Fitzjames signed the note, which had what seemed a hurried postscript, scrawled upside down in the top right corner: "and start on to-morrow 26th for Back's Fish River".
Survivors apparently hoped to follow the river – now known as Back river – south to safety at a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading outpost.
None made it, and for generations, the accepted historical narrative has described a brutal death march as the Royal Navy mariners tried to walk out of the Arctic, dying along the way.
Now Franklin experts will have to debate whether at least some of the dying sailors instead mustered incredible strength, fighting off hunger, disease and frostbite, in a desperate attempt to sail home.
Source: the guardian.com Photos: Arctic Research Foundation


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Our featured image from the MAKE Flickr pool this week is by regular contributor Peter Barvoets, aka lookseeseen. Its subject is a glowing Geissler tube (Wikipedia), an early type of low-pressure gas discharge tube invented in Germany in 1857. Peter has another great shot of the same tube here.
large geissler tube from lookseeseen.
DIY RockyLogic Ant8 cable, cable connected from Uwe Hermann.
RPG7 Gnome Painted in Leaves from thorssoli.
Monochron from Scott McKittrick.
Puzzle hound from 3D King.
Doodad from pew.pew.pew.
Join Make: Community Today


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WS2812 LEDs are one of my favourite toys. Apart from all the things that you can do with them in terms of lighting, displays or even light painting you can also use them for your projects as indicator lights.
The great advantage comes from the fact that you can use a single pin to drive so many of them and it takes just 3 wires ran across the whole box for practically any number. This in turn comes with the disadvantage of more complex control and problems driving them(5V devices) from a 3.3V microcontroller.
Although the data sheet states that you would need at least 3.5V for them to recognize as HIGH level(70% of 5V), many seem to have no problem being driven from a 3.3V micro. With the signal regeneration that each does, it is only a problem for the first one in the chain. But, as I found out, some LEDs simply don't work as the first device, and to be safe it is best to use a level translator. Unless you completely forget about it and find yourself in need of driving a display with WS2812 which does not like 3.3V signals.
Luckily there is a simple solution with parts that you have available: just another WS2812 LED (or two) and a diode. The trick is to power the first LED in the chain from 5V via a diode dropping its supply to 4.3V*. At this level the 3.3V signal from the microcontroller is within specifications to be recognized as a high level. As each LED does signal regeneration the output of the first LED will be at a 4.3V level which is in specification for the next LED powered at 5V. If you need a longer cable between the microcontroler board and the LEDs, a second one may be included in on the board which will be supplied by 5V in turn regenerating the control levels to 5V.
Below you can see the original 3.3V signal and the 4.3V signal after the first LED. Also notice there is stronger ringing on the 3.3V control signal due to longer wire from the microcontroller.
And now the original 3.3V signal and the 5V signal after the second LED:
*Datasheet doesn't specifically say what is the normal supply range for these LEDs, although many specs are provided for 4.5 to 5.5V supply. I found no problem with them at 4.3V in normal ambient conditions.
I decided to test the frequency of the PWM signal used in the LEDs as it seems to be unclear. The datasheet claims "scan frequency not less than 400Hz/s" but there was doubt whether or not this is the PWM frequency on some forums. With a resistor in series with the power supply I turned on only one color and tested the PWM frequency which was around 44oHz for a few of the LEDs that I looked at.


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Roses are the most popular flower grown in gardens, according to a poll of 30,000 gardeners by Bombay Outdoors. The rose took a whopping 32 percent of the total votes, with the second place flower (zinnia) only raking in 7 percent!
These beautiful blooms require some level of care to provide the best flower, but a handy technique from Fenyutas may help. The trick is to plant your rose cuttings in a potato before putting it into the ground. This helps ensure your flowers get enough moisture and nutrients as they acclimate to the soil. Keep reading and see how it's done.
Rose cuttings
Knife and/or drill bit
1-liter water bottles
Rose cuttings
Knife and/or drill bit
1-liter water bottles
Follow these simple steps to get your potato-planted rose started.
Follow these simple steps to get your potato-planted rose started.
1. Use a knife to cut all the thorns off the bottom half of your flower stem.
2. Use a knife to cut a narrow but deep hole into the body of the potato. Use a sharp knife and twist it in a circular motion. Make it just wide enough to fit the stem, but be careful not to cut all the way through the bottom of the potato. You can also use a drill bit to twist a hole into the potato.
3. Wedge your stem into the hole you just created with your knife. You may need to twist the stem a little to make sure it fits tightly.
4. Fill a medium-sized planter about 1/3 of the way full with soil and place your potato/rose cutting on top of the soil. Push into the soil to keep the potato stable. Then fill the rest of the container with soil.
5. Use a knife to cut off the bottom of a 1-liter bottle. Remove the lid and place the bottle (cut bottom down) over your rose cutting. You'll want a bottle for each cutting that you plant. The bottles will protect your cuttings until they're stronger.
Water as needed.
Other tips
If you really want to help your new roses succeed, try adding one of these tips to your maintenance routine:
If you really want to help your new roses succeed, try adding one of these tips to your maintenance routine:
- Add two to three chopped banana peels beneath the leafy area of your bush (but not touching the stem), or blend the peels with water. Let the banana water set for a few minutes before applying it to the roots of your plant.
- Woman's Weekly recommends making sure that your roses get plenty of sunlight. They need at least four hours of sun each day.
-Protect your roses from critters like Japanese beetles and aphids by spreading plants apart (to keep any bugs or disease from spreading), and try applying a soap spray mixture to the flowers, according to Heirloom Roses.
If you love the rose/potato technique and other tips described here, don't forget to share with your friends on Facebook. Have fun competing to see who can grow the prettiest roses this year.


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Mercer Victory Dance After Beating Duke Is All Kinds of Awesome [Video]
And this is why we love the NCAA Tournament.
Sure, Mercer pulled off the shocking upset over Duke on Friday, but the real highlight came after the game when guard Kevin Canevari, who went scoreless in the victory, showed off some dance moves while the team celebrated.
It's obvious Mercer has Duke outclassed on the court and the dance floor.


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Many people across the world enjoy a crossword for several reasons, from stimulating their mind to simply passing the time. Everyone has a good reason to delve into such puzzles, especially given how easily available they are in the modern world.
In a couple of taps on your mobile, you can access some of the world's most popular crosswords, such as the NYT Crossword, LA Times Crossword, and many more. This means crosswords and their accessibility are only going to get bigger and better as time goes on.
It's worth noting that crosswords are as much fun as they are difficult, given they span across such a broad spectrum of general knowledge, which means figuring out the answer to some clues can be extremely complicated.
We all need a little help sometimes, as surely no one can be expected to have such a broad general knowledge that they know every single clue answer, but that's where we come in to give you a helping hand, especially today with the potential answer to the Exalted work crossword clue.
Exalted work Crossword Clue Answer
We have searched for the answer to the Exalted work Crossword Clue and found this within the Thomas Joseph Crossword on May 2 2023.
To give you a helping hand, we've got the answer ready for you right here, to help you push along with today's crossword or provide you with the possible solution if you're working on a different one.
This is your last chance though if you want one last attempt at solving the clue you're working on, as the answer will be revealed shortly. If you're set on finding the answer though, you've got one more scroll and all will be revealed.
- 3 Letters
There you have it, we hope that helps you solve the puzzle you're working on today. If it was the Thomas Joseph Crossword, you can view all of the Thomas Joseph Crossword Clues and Answers for May 2 2023.
Check back tomorrow for more clues and answers to all of your favourite Crossword Clues and puzzles.


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
Show All Answers
You can request a Fire Report by going to City Clerks Office- Gov QA . You will have to create a profile so we know where to send the information. Questions related to fire reports can be directed to the City Clerk's office at 512-393-8090. Legally, open records are allowed 10 days to respond back to your request.
All permits are submitted electronically with a Fire Marshal Permit Application. https://www.sanmarcostx.gov/745/Permits
For more information, please contact the Fire Marshal's office at 512-805-2600 or by emailing email@example.com.
The Fire Marshal office answers all questions concerning the City's code requirements and violations.
For answers to your questions, please contact the Fire Marshal's Office at 512-805-2600 or visit their webpage Fire Department.
No. The fire company may receive an alert to report to a scene of an emergency incident. Fire stations are fully staffed 24 hours a day but they do operate in an active 9-1-1 system. When they get an emergency call, the staff will respond the emergency.
A San Marcos Firefighter works one of three shifts that are designated as A-Shift, B-Shift, and C-Shift. They work 24 hours on/48 hours off.
It is a vehicle designed to assist in firefighting and other rescue operations. The terms fire engine and fire truck represent different types of firefighting apparatus.
Fire Engines assist ambulance crews on calls for several reasons. Certain types of medical calls require additional personnel. Heart attacks, strokes, and major accidents and many other medical calls require additional personnel for effective medical treatment.
While ambulances are housed at our stations, ambulances operate under San Marcos Hays County EMS https://smhcems.com/
San Marcos Fire Department enjoys giving back to it's community though community outreach!
We do offer educational station tours to youth organizations and schedule public education fire department visits to school groups and other similar groups.
Click here to fill out your information for us to review and schedule: https://www.sanmarcostx.gov/564/Fire-Station-Tour-or-Demonstration
ISO (Insurance Services Office Rating) classifies communities from 1 (the best) to 10 (the worst) based on how well they score on the ISO Fire Suppression Rating Schedule, which grades such features as water distribution, fire department equipment and manpower and fire alarm facilities. ISO field representatives use the schedule when surveying a community's fire protection capability. The score that is determined from applying the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule is translated into a public protection classification.
The current rating inside the city is a 2/2X/10. To look up your ISO by your address, visit this link: https://www.sanmarcostx.gov/1142/ISO---Insurance-Services-Office-Rating
For more information on ISO ratings from the State Fire Marshal Office, please visit the State Fire Marshal Texas Department of Insurance Public Protection Classification (PPC) page. www.tdi.texas.gov/fire/fmppcfaq.html.
The smoke alarm will chirp when its time to replace the battery. We encourage residents to change the smoke alarm battery when they change their clocks for Daylight Saving time in the spring and fall each year. Free battery operated smoke detectors are available for residents living within the City limits. If you need help installing or checking your battery home smoke detectors, San Marcos Fire Department can install new detectors and check your current ones. More information is available here: https://www.sanmarcostx.gov/567/Home-Smoke-Detector-Program.
Details on SMFD's minimum requirements are outlined on it's Employment Opportunities Page: https://www.sanmarcostx.gov/536/Employment-Opportunities
We host a hiring process about once a year.
Information on how to become a Texas Firefighter may be found on the Texas Commission on Fire Protection website.
Qualifications required to become an EMT-Paramedic are listed on the Texas Department of State Health Services
Texas Department of State Health Services "DSHS" Emergency Medical Services Certification EMT-Basic or higher (National Registry, DSHS Licensed, or DSHS Certification)
Applications are only accepted online during open enrollment through our HR Department or by visiting our employment page at Employment Opportunities | City of San Marcos, TX (sanmarcostx.gov)


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Thief: The Dark Project is an oft-forgotten classic of 1990s PC gaming. It's easily the PC's answer to Metal Gear Solid, as it introduced tons of stealth mechanics that only later came to consoles. From dragging away unconscious bodies to using actual shadows as your ally, it crested almost every major innovation in the genre since, and it challenged you to use all of them to be a master thief. Thief is a reboot of the series, and it's currently in development for next-gen systems. At E3, we got some time with Theif to see what the game can do.
The new Thief still casts you as Garret, the thief from the classic games who wants to become a master thief of priceless goods. In the demo, this meant stealing a diamond from a "Baranoid" local lord. Fortunately, he's angered a lot of people and the guards are partially distracted by an angry mob as Garret enters the map. From there, his basic tools came into play, and the game mixes elements of the Assassin's Creed series with the PC series' iconic core.
Thief controls loosely like a first-person shooter, with tunings specific to its stealth underpinnings. You don't switch weapons. The game automatically alternates between your melee sap and your bow as needed, leaving arrow types as the only choice you need to make. This is handled with a radial menu, and the PS4 build allowed you to use the touch pad. The game also gives you the classic meter to see how much light you are in, along with a few new basic tools. You have a quick dash to move between points and a focus mechanic that slows time and provides advantages such as seeing sounds whose source can't be observed, highlighting guards in the shadows, and seeing inside locks to facilitate lock-picking. Focus is limited by a gauge that burns like a candle, and it does not regenerate. Health also doesn't regenerate, but there are health pick-ups.
The series' dark-fantasy roots are preserved in the gritty and exceptionally detailed environments. As Garret progressed into the lord's house, you could get through each area in several ways, but Eidos representatives highlighted that it would be exceptionally difficult to go completely unnoticed while clearing the map. Some options include jumping down a stairwell, throwing a bottle to lead the guard away, or running over to set off a dog and then climbing up a ledge and down the stairs.
A few other tools and tricks popped up throughout the demo, including third-person climbing sequences, which handled very similarly to Assassin's Creed, but with a new rappelling mechanic and a more focused feel. You can steal maps and money from guards (the maps are highlighted and have notes!), knocking down chandeliers to disable guards, and avoiding or disabling traps, and dealing with a puzzle that mixed Resident Evil 4-style puzzle-solving with some map-searching. The levels are about as open as they were in the original, so there are many ways to solve each area, observation is often rewarded, and screwing up doesn't always mean that the game is immediately over.
The graphics don't seem too far beyond what a well-optimized PS3 could handle, until you noticed that it was running at a smooth 60 frames per second without a dip. The soundscape, however, was where the game really showed its stuff. From guard voices to footsteps and the classical-styled music, the game knows how to paint a scene with audio before the graphics even come in. The latter half of the demo, which involved getting past a burning bridge, highlighted crackling, disturbingly realistic fires, collapsing objects galore, and occasional bits of set pieces amidst multipath areas.
Thief brings back a classic franchise, complete with its original difficulty and complexity and some high-def spit and polish. It only loses the obtuse controls in its transition to multiple platforms, producing a possible must-buy for the new console generation.
More articles about Thief


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The GNU Hurd project will participate in this year's Google Summer of Code, under the aegis of the GNU project.
The following is a list of items you might want to work on. If you want to modify or extend these tasks or have your own ideas what to work on, please feel invited to contact us on the bug-hurd mailing list or the #hurd IRC channel.
- Make GNU Mach use more up to date device drivers.
- Work on GNU Mach's IPC / VM system.
- Design and implement a sound system.
- Transition the Hurd libraries and servers from cthreads to pthreads.
- Find and implement a reasonable way to make the Hurd servers use syslog.
- Design and implement libchannel, a library for streams.
- Rewrite pfinet, our interface to the IPv4 world.
- Implement and make the Hurd properly use extended attributes.
- Design / implement / enhance support for the...
Please see the page GNU guidelines for Summer of Code projects about how to make an application and Summer of Code project ideas list for a list of tasks for various GNU projects and information about about how to submit your own ideas for tasks.


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First up, the crèmes and jelly formulas of the collection.
A-piers to be tan is a yellow toned brown. It looks terrible on me but I will definitely find many uses for it in nail art :)
Keeping Suzi at bay is a gorgeous blue crelly. At first glance it looks like a dupe to OPI...Eurso Euro from the Euro Centrale collection but it's a lot less bright and has a slightly dusty look next to the Eurso Euro. Very appropriate for the cooler season!
In the cable car-pool lane is a burgandy jelly. It looks similar to OPI Anti-bleak but with a jelly-ish formula. I say jelly-ish because it's definitely somewhere between a crelly and a jelly.
Lost in Lombard is a dusty red nail polish. I love the dusty look - it's just so appropriate for the cooler months! However, it's not exactly a unique colour but for someone who is only just exploring the red toned shades in the nail polish world, this one is a keeper.
First date at the Golden Gate is quite similar to Lost in Lombard...initially. You can see that it is a more orange toned red and it's got more of a jelly finish. I'm a bit torn between the two because whilst I prefer the shade of Lost in Lombard, I love the name of First date the Golden Gate more. Dilemma!
Incognito in Susalito is definitely one of my favourites from the crèmes this half of the collection. No surprise really, given that it's so dark and dusty ♥ It's a very dark shade of inky blue, but not to the point where it looks black. Loveeeeeee!
Dining Alfrisco is a light sky blue with a dense silver shimmer. The shimmer almost gives the polish a frosty appearance and you have to be a little more careful to avoid obvious brush strokes. Very pretty though, and in a shade of blue I adore ♥
I knead sour-dough has a beautiful red shimmer running throughout it, giving the overall shade a red-toned brown look. This one is definitely very appropriate for the cooler weather and really reminds me of hot chocolate ;)
Haven't the foggiest is a dense silver foil. Has a blue tinge to it.
Muir muir on the wall. Where do I even start?! It's a gorgeous dark burgundy shade with the most awesome shimmer. I have to admit, when I first saw this in person, it reminded me so much of Every month is Octoberfest, from the Germany collection from last year's Fall collection. For a quick comparison, here is my review of Every month is Octoberfest from last year (I believe there was a mix up with the labelling of this polish and German-icure by OPI - the bottle I received was named the latter, hence the name difference in my review. It has since been confirmed to be EMIO though).
Peace & love & OPI is the beautiful duochrome of the collection. Yes, the press release did describe this one to be a holographic polish and no, it isn't holographic. A little bit of a bummer, but the gorgeous colour shift does make up for it a little :) The shift is in no way subtle and you can constantly catch yourself staring at your nails when wearing Peace & love & OPI...at least, I did ;)
Embarca-dare ya is a bright raspberry shimmer. There is a slight duochrome shift visible in the bottle but it doesn't make an appearance on the nail, unfortunately.
Ahhh, now for the Liquid Sands :)
Wharf wharf wharf is the first of two Liquid Sands made by OPI so far which do not have a glitter finish. It applies like a crème polish but once dry, forms a gritty and textured finish. I'm actually surprised that I like this polish, considering I was expecting glitters.
It's all San Andrea's fault is the second Liquid Sand without the glitter finish. Again, I was surprised that I liked it - you can expect to see this in a chocolate themed manicure shortly too ;)
Alcatraz...rocks. Ahhhh, the beautiful multicoloured Liquid Sand. This was the only polish which required three coats from me to be fully opaque, although I'm sure you can get away with two thicker coats. I have no words, just ogle instead ♥ It's no wonder this one is my favourite from the collection - actually, I don't know if I love Peace & love & OPI or Alcatraz...rocks more ;) They're both too beautiful!
Whew, that was one huge post! My picks from this collection will have to be Peace & love & OPI, Incognito in Sausalito, Muir muir on the wall, Wharf wharf wharf and Alcatraz...rocks. What will you be getting when this collection is released?
The San Francisco collection will be available from August 8th at David Jones, Myer stores and selected beauty salons & saps across Australia. Each bottle retails for $19.95.
Thanks for reading!


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MCFRS News Release
November 25, 2013
Release ID: 13-049
Contact: Scott Graham, Public Information Office
(240) 876-1260 Phone
(240) 777-2442 Media Line
Follow us @MCFirePIO
Keep Your Family Safe this Thanksgiving
Did you know that cooking fires are the #1 cause of fires?
Montgomery County, MD - - More cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving than on any other day of the year. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, Montgomery County Fire Chief Steven Lohr is urging residents to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and to keep safety at the top of everyone's "to do" list this holiday season. "Whether you're a seasoned chef or a rookie cooking your first holiday feast, the strategies for serving up a safe meal are the same," said Chief Lohr. "Unattended cooking is the leading cause of residential fires and we're asking residents to follow these simple safety tips and to have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.
Cooking Safety Tips:
· Be alert! Stay in the kitchen when using the stovetop and use a timer. If you must leave the kitchen, even for a minute, turn off the stove.
· Keep anything that can catch fire at least 3 feet from the stove, toaster oven or other heat source. This includes pot holders, food packaging, dish towels, paper/plastic bags, etc.
· Do not pour water on a grease fire. Pouring water on a grease fire can cause the fire to spread. In the event of a range-top fire, turn off the burner, put on an oven mitt and smother the flames by carefully sliding a lid or cookie sheet onto the pan. Leave the lid in place until the pot or pan has cooled.
· Clean cooking surfaces regularly to prevent grease buildup which can ignite.
· Always wear short, tight-fitting sleeves when cooking to prevent clothing from coming in contact with a burner and catching fire.
· Do not hold children while cooking or carrying hot foods or drinks. Keep children at a safe distance from hot surfaces, liquids and other kitchen hazards.
· Plug microwaves and other kitchen appliances directly into an outlet. Never use an extension cord for a cooking appliance as it can overload the circuit and cause a fire.
· Double-check the kitchen before you go to bed or leave the house. Make sure all other appliances are turned off and that any candles or smoking materials are safely extinguished.
· Smoke alarms save lives. Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home, test alarms monthly and change batteries annually or as recommended by the manufacturer if your alarm features long-life batteries.
Turkey fryers are becoming an increasingly popular choice to cook the Thanksgiving turkey and can be extremely dangerous if proper precautions are not taken. If your plans include using a turkey fryer, fire department officials urge residents to follow all manufacturer directions closely and to review the following safety tips:
Turkey Fryer Safety Tips:
· Never leave a fryer unattended. Keep your "dynasty" safe this holiday and be sure to check out the tips here: http://youtu.be/5xPV27MxkF8 (or see below)
· By design, turkey fryers are prone to tipping over. Fryers should always be used on a non-combustible, flat surface to reduce accidental tipping.
· Fryers should always be used outdoors at least 10 feet from buildings and any flammable materials. Never use a fryer on a wooden deck, under a patio cover, in a garage, porch or other enclosed space.
· Do not overfill the fryer. The oil may spill out of the unit when the turkey is placed into the cooking pot. Oil may hit the burner/flames resulting in a potential fire hazard that could engulf the entire unit.
· Oil and water do not mix! Make sure the turkey is completely thawed before it is placed in a fryer. Partially frozen turkeys can cause a spillover effect which may result in a fire.
· Some units do not have thermostat controls and, if not carefully watched, have the potential to overheat the oil to the point of combustion.
· Use well-insulated potholders or oven mitts when touching the pot or lid handle. The sides of the cooking pot, lid and pot handles get dangerously hot and can result in severe burns. If available, use safety goggles to protect your eyes from any oil splatter.
· Keep children and pets away from fryers. The oil can remain dangerously hot even hours after use.
Following these simple fire safety tips can boost survival rates and reduce injuries dramatically. For more information about our fire safety programs or to request a free home safety evaluation or smoke alarm check, please contact the County's non-emergency call center at 311 during business hours.


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Dear Lifehacker,
I just got an internship at a company I really like, and it seemed like a dream come true until I realized I have absolutely no idea what to do next. How can I make sure I don't screw things up and make the most of this experience?
Intimidated Intern
Dear I.I.,
Let's start with the good news: nobody expects you to know what to do. No matter what your internship entails, no new worker knows the ropes right away. Your company will spend a lot of time in the first few days, if not more, getting you up to speed. Even if your manager wants to throw you right into the fire, you still have to fill out a few forms and can ask questions. You'll learn as you go, and so long as you work hard and don't make any grievous errors you'll do just fine. With that in mind, let's talk about a few guidelines to follow to make the most out of the experience and avoid those big problems.
Pace Yourself
With the exception of a handful of people, pretty much no one can sprint for a mile. Even if your internship only lasts a given number of months, you need to avoid burning yourself out. You can't maintain an extremely high level of productivity forever or even a relatively short period of time. If you attempt to do so, you'll start making sacrifices like sleep, free time, and your health. You'll end up hating the work you do because you feel like you have no time for yourself.
You don't have to end up like that. You can do your job well and set boundaries so you have time for other things you care about. While you can't know exactly where your limits lie when they haven't been tested much before, you can say no when someone asks too much of you. No reasonable person will judge you for saying "I have too much on my plate right now, but if it can wait until tomorrow I'm happy to do it."
Conversely, don't feel like you have to set super-strict boundaries. Special occasions will dictate when you might want to work a little late, put in some extra effort on a project, or help out a coworker in need. Save that energy for times that will benefit the company and your reputation at the same time. Although you won't become the paradigm of altruism, we're talking about a job here and not charity work. You only have so much energy to expend, so pick the best moments to expend it so everyone benefits.
Strictly Follow the Rules (for Two Weeks)
Companies may or may not have strict sets of rules, but you need to follow them to the letter for your first two weeks. Show up on time, or even a little bit early. Dress according to whatever dress code they may have (or claim to have). Take your lunch breaks for however long they allow or less. You probably won't have to follow these rules for most of your internship, but don't break them until you know where flexibility lies at your company. After about two weeks you'll know what you can get away with, so just follow them strictly until then.
Use Your Breaks Wisely
When you go to lunch, go with others at the company. Start off by asking someone new to go to lunch every day. Tell them you want to meet people around the office and want to know if they'll take their break with you. Not only will this help you get to know people—people who can help you with specific parts of your internship when needed—but some of them might pay for your lunch because they actually make a salary. Even if not, you'll learn all the places people like to eat and save yourself some time discovering nearby quick eats.
Find the Right Level of Confidence
Confidence can take you far, but you don't want to go so far that you find yourself jobless on the side of the road. You can make a good impression by standing by your ideals, but you need to keep an open mind and leave the cockiness at home (or in the garbage can, as it doesn't really help you in any situation). Timid people don't have to worry about this problem but will need to make a greater effort to contribute to their team if they want to get noticed.
Fortunately, we're not dealing with a fine line. You want to have the courage to suggest ideas, defend your opinion when you think it serves the company, but also know when to shut up. As much as you may want to have an equal voice in every discussion, interns (and even lower-level employees) need to prove themselves before people start to listen. That takes time. It doesn't happen overnight, and it won't necessarily happen during your internship. Make your voice heard when you can, but if you sense more than just a little resistance you need to back off even you think you're right. Both you and your superiors make mistakes, but you don't have years of experience under your belt. If they argue, people might say "so-and-so argues a lot but always does great work. People won't say the same of you because they'll only know about your argumentative attitude.
On the other side, companies forget people who lack confidence and always stay quiet. Great work takes you most of the way, but if you never contribute beyond what the company instructs you to do you will always restrict your own success. If you lack the courage to make suggestions in meetings (or in general), set aside time at home to think of some and practice. If you don't feel comfortable contributing to a meeting right away, come back the next day with some ideas that came to you overnight. While you might miss your chance to actually contribute, you'll demonstrate that you want to. That'll get you one step closer and you can work your way up to proper confidence in due time.
Understand What Mistakes Mean
You will make mistakes, and should. Your company will expect those mistakes, too, so just handle them gracefully. Apologize when necessary, but always prioritize correcting the error. You can only say sorry so many times. Learning from your mistakes, however, demonstrates intelligence and growth.
On top of that, you should pay attention to whom your mistakes affect. Even if you work on a team, errors in your work may affect other teams within the company. When correcting a problem, figure out who you've caused problems for and address that issue with them directly when necessary. You don't want members of a team—or the entire team—thinking of you as the incompetent intern because they haven't put a face to the name. A simple apology can avoid that, especially if you give them an ETA on the correction. As you'll find with most things, good communication gives you a serious advantage.
Don't Waste Free Time
You may have enough work day-to-day, but when you have free time you should ask for more work. It'll hurt your reputation if someone finds you doing nothing by choice, even if nobody assigned you anything. Show initiative and get new worked assigned to you. Better yet, have something in mind. When free time presents itself, you have a great opportunity to ask for the kind of work you like best or a task you really want to explore. Even if you don't get a job out of the internship, you should seek out the kind of work that'd look good on your resume. That way, should you depart, you can use that experience to get the kind of job you want.
Get Regular Feedback from Someone You Trust
Under the best of circumstances, you can ask your manager for regular feedback on your performance. This way you can learn how to improve from the person who sees you working the most. That said, you might have a better relationship with someone else in the company who can offer a more level-headed perspective. You don't want to go to a work friend for feedback, but rather someone quite a ways above you on the food chain who you respect. Either way, checking in now and then can help you get the small amount of mentoring you need to learn what you can't figure out on your own.
Have a question or suggestion for a future Ask Lifehacker? Send it to [email protected].
Images by Jeremy Kaposy (Shutterstock), Goodluz (Shutterstock), Stuart Grout, and Mopic (Shutterstock).


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Call Today: (720) 949-0051
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Owning a home is a large responsibility but it can also be very rewarding and lucrative when you take proper care of it, especially in the Colorado housing market. That said, when you have damage to your roof it puts your entire home and belongings below it at risk, so having a?Centennial Roofer you can trust is a critical part of maintaining your home as best as possible!
If you have lived on the Front Range for a few years or more, then you are certainly aware of how the weather can affect our daily life, but you may not recognize the impact that it can also have on your roof and the exterior of your home. Hail storms are our most common form of roof damage but it is frequently not noticed from the ground, so for proper inspection, it is best to get up on the roof for a birds-eye view to really see the full effects. However, there are some clues you can look for such as:
Shingle granules in the runoff area from your gutters downspouts.
Loose or lifted shingles (probably allowing moisture beneath them when wind-driven rain and hail occurs).
Blown off shingles scattered around your yard.
Cracked or broken skylights.
When it comes to roof damage, we understand there are a lot of mysteries that surround it and the telltale signs to look for. This is why the NRCA suggests having your roof examined by a licensed professional twice a year, ideally in the spring and the fall as a precautionary measure. At the minimum, you should have this done once a year by a licensed and insured roofing contractor. Think of it as a yearly health check-up for your home.
Call Paragon Partners Today at (720) 949-0051
Paragon Partners was founded on a mission to provide home and business owners with quality renovation services that they can trust and believe in. Both owners experienced their own residential restoration losses before going into business and share a vision to provide their customers with the total care they wish they had received long ago.


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The results have been announced for week seven of the St. Mary, Star of the Sea PeeWee Basketball League. In the Boys' League, the Hoyas defeated the Blue Devils, 20-14. Scoring for the Hoyas were Landon Paradine, 19; and William Doering, 1. For the Blue Devils, Robert Geisler, 6; Nolan Geisler, 6; and A.J. Bianciella, 2; scored points.
The Knicks beat the Pirates, 36-33. Scoring for the Knicks were Jeffery Van Sant, 16; Matthew Dobronsky, 8; Ryan Rzepinski, 8; Vance Larwa, 2; and Logan Mazziota, 2. For the Pirates, Matthew Nilan, 18; Nicholas Escobar, 7; Brandon Kobryn, 6; and Nicholas Barreto, 2; scored.
The Rams defeated the Lakers, 34-19. Scoring for the Rams were Devin Gomez, 12; Avery Powel, 8; Ian Wilson, 8; and Gregory Van Sant, 6. For the Lakers, Elijah Flourney, 18; and Justin Evanecky, 1; scored points.
In the Girls' League, the Rams beat the Blue Devils, 15-1. Scoring for the Rams were Tamia Phillips, 14; and Samantha Fortune, 1. For the Blue Devils, Emma Smith scored 1 point.
The Pirates defeated the Hoyas, 12-10. Scoring for the Pirates were Megan Feeley, 6; Caitlin Feeley, 2; Ava DiLullo, 2; and Emily Walsh, 2. For the Hoyas, Jessica Van Sant, 4; Caitlyn Slasinski, 2; Reagan Mattiello, 2; and Amanda Kruchkowski, 2; scored.


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Open for business: Daikin's new state of the art climatic testing centre
Daikin Applied Europe has announced the launch of a new Witness Testing service for clients, with a new climatic test chamber designed to accommodate all cooling-specific applications. The new facility, based at Cecchina, near Rome, offers testing to recognised International Standards across a range of operational modes, in all climate conditions.
The development follows significant investment at the Daikin Applied Europe Italian factory in 2016. New production lines dedicated to water-cooled chillers have since been introduced, together with the development of new testing infrastructures, resulting in continued strong sales growth for Daikin.
The new customer Witness Testing service underlines the company's commitment to driving forward new manufacturing development to provide future-proof solutions that ensure regulatory compliance for its customers.
The state-of the-art testing centre follows a rigorous set of procedures to ensure proper operation of Daikin products in any environment. The new testing regime has been independently verified and accredited to EN 14511:2013, ISO 9614:2009 and other major recognised European and American HVACR industry standards. In addition, the climatic chamber has been approved by the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), with tests on air-cooled units for the Eurovent testing campaign being conducted in the new Daikin facility.
Challenging boundaries
Incorporating the latest technology, the new climatic chamber offers a complete testing environment, with a diverse range of testable units available.
This includes air- or water-cooled chillers of up to 2000 kW cooling capacity, supporting up to 30 fans. Three test stands dedicated solely to water-cooled chillers allow the testing of units in 2MW, 4MW or 11MW cooling capacities.
Climate conditions can be set from Southern European conditions to colder Northern regions, with temperatures as low as -15°C. Middle Eastern hot ambient temperature conditions can also be simulated, up to +52°C.
Combined with an extended voltage and frequency range, the breadth of configuration options offers the flexibility to simulate all applications in heating and cooling modes at full and part load.
The versatility of the purpose-design climatic chamber also allows free cooling, heat recovery and heat pump tests, multipurpose 4-pipes to 6-pipes units and engineering-grade acoustic testing. In addition, the centre offers testing for glycol-based cooling solutions with leaving water temperatures down to -8°C.
Testing in comfort
Adjacent to the testing chamber, a new fully-equipped customer lounge allows customers and consultants to view the testing process directly through a viewing window or to access performance data remotely via a monitor. Dedicated meeting space is available for open project discussions on product and design aspects.
"Our new testing service supports Daikin's continual advancement in HVACR production and product development. From this month our customers can now benefit from added peace of mind regarding Daikin systems integration and performance in use. The flexibility in configuration and resources available takes testing to a higher plane, with the added benefit of being able to leverage Daikin's professional expertise on site", said Claudio Capozio, CEO of Daikin Applied Europe.
The new testing centre will be available for use from the beginning of October 2018, with tests now being scheduled for new orders confirmed as of August.
About Daikin Europe N.V. and Daikin Applied Europe S.p.A.
Daikin Europe N.V. is a major European producer of air conditioners, heat pumps and refrigeration equipment, with approximately 5,500 employees throughout Europe and 10 major manufacturing facilities based in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the UK.
Daikin Applied Europe is a multinational company manufacturing and supplying components for hydronic HVAC systems (chillers, fan coil units, air handling units and system management solutions) with premium quality, reliability and efficiency.
Daikin Applied Europe leads the development, manufacturing and sale of its products and services in Europe, Middle East and Africa, employing more than 650 people within its headquarter, branches and manufacturing sites.
Daikin Europe and Daikin Applied Europe are parts of Daikin Industries, Ltd, the largest HVAC manufacturer with more than 67,000 employees. It is worldwide present with more than 80 production sites and customers in over 150 countries.
Globally, Daikin is renowned for its pioneering approach to product development and the unrivalled quality and versatility of its integrated solutions. With more than 90 years' experience in the design and manufacture of heating and cooling technologies, Daikin is a market leader in heat pump technology.
Media Contact: Anju Sarpal: +44 7980 785572 firstname.lastname@example.com
Press release
Climatic Chamber_DEUEN18-030_Press release_EnglishZIP | 1.83MB


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Effective Risk Communication
Risk communication is an ongoing difficulty for fire and emergency services. Official reports continue to refer to the need for better, timely warnings and advice on safe action during fire events. This is because a significant proportion of the population in many communities fails to respond appropriately or adequately to fire weather and fire emergency warnings. The failure of pre-event safety messages, fire warnings, post-event communications and the associated action advice results in lower standards of safety and increased property, heritage or cultural, environmental and social losses.
This project provided a better understanding of community engagement with the media to facilitate better communication by agencies and more effective use of the media. A series of reports from La Trobe University researchers on better engagement between fire agencies and the media was used by agencies to better plan their media communications during bushfire incidents.
Work by project leader Professor Douglas Paton at the University of Tasmania identified ways in which communities and individuals respond to warnings and prepare in advance of a fire. Substantial research was undertaken around high fire risk areas in Canberra and Hobart to gauge how people interpret community safety messages from agencies.
For warning messages to be heeded, the community needs to recognise it is at risk.and this study found this is strongly influenced by community psychology and personal experiences and beliefs.
This data was used to construct a bushfire preparedness model for fire services to better deliver preparedness and warning messages to communities. These findings were also presented by Professor Paton to the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.
Damien Killalea, Director of Community Fire Safety at Tasmania Fire Service, said the research is now being applied: "This research identifies the essential need to understand the psychological motivations and other reasons behind an individual's decision to act or not to act, sometimes despite their best intentions."
Two postgraduate projects at the University of Tasmania reinforced this research. Tim Prior identified the key factors that most influenced residents when deciding whether or not to prepare their homes for bushfire. Tim's work highlighted the importance of different information for different people, and that the notion of "preparedness" differed between agencies and residents.
Educating children about bushfire risk was the focus of a postgraduate study by University of Tasmania student Briony Towers. Her work looked at how children understand bushfire and how they can bring this understanding into their homes. Briony was selected as a top four finalist in the Early Career Scientist Award to present to the CRC Association Annual Conference in 2010 on how this work was taken up by fire agencies. The CFA in Victoria and Ettamogah Productions worked with Briony to develop a series of 30-second animated cartoons that were repeatedly shown on three free to air television networks across southern Australia over the 2009-10 bushfire season with plans to extend the series further.


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THE heroics of the bandmaster who played on as the Titanic sank has touched the hearts of millions - but had an even greater impact on the fiancee he left behind.
Colne-born Wallace Hartley was engaged to Maria Robinson when he boarded the ill-fated White Star liner in April 1912, and the couple were only months away from marriage.
Hartley's name lived on as his band played on, as the giant vessel plunged into the Atlanic, 100 years ago tomorrow.
But little has been known about his wife-to-be, who lived in relative obscurity until her death from stomach cancer in Bridlington, in June 1939.
Now librarian-turned-author Darran Ward, in his new book Playing To The End, has unearthed some rare early photos of Wallace and Maria, which casts new light on the musician's early life and their courtship.
He is convinced that Maria, the daughter of a renowned Yorkshire industrialist, remained 'heartbroken' for the rest of her days.
"She never married and lived with her mother and sister until 1930, while her brother took over the family firm," he said.
"Everyone I talk to is interested in this romantic story, of Maria and Wallace, there is a picture of her holding a handkerchief at the funeral, in a newspaper supplement from the time, and people want to know what happens next.
"What makes this book different is it's not only about the journey but follows in his footsteps, from his choir to performing in smaller muscial venues to becoming a musician on board cruise ships."
The 43-year-old Colne librarian first became enthralled by the White Star liner's tortured saga as a youngster.
But it was not until 1985, when he was asked to sort out a box of old books, that his interest mushroomed.
Among them was a bound copy of the Daily Graphic from 1912, featuring a spread on the first-class passengers who perished.
He said: "I asked myself - 'why did it sink' and that was my inspiration for collecting things associated with the Titanic."
In time he became an authority on the disaster and he penned articles for the likes of Time Life and Hello magazines.
With the centenary approaching he began to consider an in-depth biography of Wallace Hartley, including his early life in Colne.
When he discovered rare photos of Hartley's fiancee Maria Robinson, and a younger Wallace, he knew he was on to something.
An astonishing 40,000 people lined the streets of Colne for his funeral on May 18, to pay tribute to the violinist as his cortege wound its way to the town's cemetery, clearly showing the pride people felt for the man and his band's unwavering sense of duty.
That duty was later to be immortalised in print and on the silver screen, but his parents Albion and Elizabeth were adamant he would make his final journey along the streets where he grew up and served as a choirboy at the Bethel Chapel.
Born in Greenfield Hill, Colne on June 2, 1878, the musician grew up at addresses in Albert Road and Burnley Road, in Colne, and Carr Road, Nelson.
He was educated at the former Wesleyan Day School in George Street, where he first picked up a violin aged 12. His first job was as a clerk at the Union Bank (now Barclay's) in Colne.
Hartley went on to become a leading light of Colne Orchestral Society, in the early 1890s, before forging a career as a professional musician via several notable Yorkshire and north-west appointments.
Before his Titanic engagement he was a seasoned traveller, having performed on board regularly on the likes of the Luistania and Mauretania.
The tragic maestro's example has never been forgotten in the Pendle town.
Nigel Hampson, who opened the Titanic in Lancashire Museum, at the Old Grammar School in Colne last August, has seen for himself the legacy which Hartley has left, having recently welcomed his 2,000th visitor.
He is part way through a project to document the tales of each passenger or crew member, from within Lancashire's old boundaries, and he has been encouraged by the response of schoolchildren to the exploits of Hartley and the lessons of the Titanic.
He said: "I receive letters all the time about how they enjoy it - each generation seems to stumble upon the story on its own merits.
"But it is not just the story of a horrible disaster, there are so many different things they can learn about history, society and sea travel."
Yesterday a new memorial to Hartley was dedicated at the musem by the Rev Tony Rindl, rector of St Bartholomew's Church in Colne.
Rev Rindl was one of the driving forces of the memorial committee, which drew up plans for the current festival, and he spoke at the launch of the example which Hartley set to youngsters, even today.
For Mr Hampson, the appeal is clear: "Hartley is held in very high esteem - this is the man who, while the ship was sinking, assembled his orchestra and they played for a lot of the popular music of the day, ragtime numbers, while the lifeboats were being launched.
"Eventually it got worse and worse, it's clear there are not enough lifeboats for everyone, and a great many will be left to drown.
"It is not until the ship is almost vertical that Wallace Hartley releases the orchestra, telling them they had done what they could.
"Then he starts playing 'Nearer My God To Thee' and the rest of the orchestra turns around and they stay with him, playing on. And of course of the eight musicians, only three bodies were ever recovered."
Hundreds of tourists have descended on Colne to discover Hartley's roots for themselves and take part in the Pendle Council festival programme, commemorating his East Lancashire heritage.
Even the slight controversy over the naming of the town's Wetherspoon's pub - a little clumsy when considering that Hartley and his family were afirmedly teetotal Independent Methodists - has failed to dampen Colne's fascination with one of its most famous sons.
His bust still stands proud off Albert Road, where people have begun to lay floral tributes, and his white-marble family vault in the Keighley Road cemetery gleams on the hillside.
And generations of Colners can be rightly satisified that, when the chips were down, one of their own knew his place, while around him succumbed to the sea, and he played on.
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